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I had an early-early flight, so I booked a hotel near the airport and took the train out the night before. Problem was, I'm so used to going to the airport that I forgot to get off at the hotel stop and instead rode all the way to PDX. Then I stepped off the train and thought: Whoops. Wrong stop.
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One of the questions I'm repeatedly asked in interviews is, “Aren't you afraid of all the dangerous countries?" It's usually followed by questions like "What's the worst thing that has happened to you?"
Despite 100 interviews over the past three months on book tour, I'm still not very good at the soundbyte. I have countries that try to deport me upon arrival and countries that write an official government response to my frustration at their bureaucracy. In a decade full of active traveling, I've also had a few more serious problems as well ...
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As mentioned once in a while, I'm really glad I wrote the AONC book. It's been a great success and the tour has been incredibly fun—I finished all 53 stops in the U.S. before Christmas, and I'm headed to every province in Canada starting next week. My second book will be on unconventional entrepreneurship—specifically, how people with no special skills can start a small business doing something they love without going into debt ...
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This week's featured postcard comes to us from Emilie in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here's what it's all about.
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Greetings, everyone. I made it home from my Annual Review trip and have been enjoying the holiday week at home. Only two days remain in this entire year... which brings us to this non-commercial reminder: If 2010 was an awful year, well, it's all over and now you get a new start. If 2010 was amazing, well, it's all over and now you get a new start ...
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After looking back on the year that's nearly finished, I spend most of my Annual Review time thinking ahead to the forthcoming year. While I wrapped up the 2010 review and looked ahead to 2011, here are a few of the summary notes I wrote to myself:
As a big 2010 came to its conclusion I felt purposeful and satisfied, but also on the verge of overwhelm. 2011 and 2012 will be even bigger – how can I maintain momentum without forgetting to live in the moment? This is the challenge and the opportunity of the year: to create sustainable growth in all areas while retaining a core sense of identity.Read More
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Erin in Gilbert, Arizona. Here's what it's all about.
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As part of the Annual Review series, I look back at everywhere I went in 2010. It’s a long list! From my usual 20+ new countries to a book tour to every U.S. state, I spent a lot of time on the road this year. In rough chronological order, here’s everywhere I went in 2010:
United States, Canada, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Maldives, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Germany, Ukraine, Cyprus, Cape Verde, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Morocco, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Belarus, ThailandRead More
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As I look back on the year during my Annual Review, I think about what went well and what didn't in my business work. I've been self-employed for most of my life and have never had a real job, but the learning process over more than a decade now has been entirely through trial and error (lots of trial, lots of error—but I just keep trying things).
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This week's featured postcard comes to us from Alexa in Canada. Here's what it's all about.
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After a great time with a fun group in Seattle last night, I drove down through Washington and crossed over the Columbia river ... hello, Oregon—also known as state #50 on the 50-state book tour. States #1-49 are now complete, and tonight is the grand finale at Powell's in Portland.
Since time is short and the year is long, I started thinking ahead on the Annual Review even though I don't leave for the actual trip until tomorrow. As explained in previous posts, the review focuses on looking ahead to the next year, but I first spend at least a day looking back on the year that's ending ...
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Every year since 2006, I've set aside an entire week in December to review the year that has almost passed and look ahead to the next one..
I certainly don't think I've got everything figured out in my life, but I can honestly say that this practice has been the most helpful exercise in all that has happened since then ...
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This week's featured postcard comes to us from Sylvia in Algonquin, Illinois. Here's what it's all about.
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This is the first announcement about an all-new project I'll be unveiling to the world in early January. The project is called the Travel Hacking Cartel, and it will be the world's greatest alert service for anyone who wants to experience the world on a budget.
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Dreams. Because it all starts with a dream or an idea. Recapture your lost dreams, create new ones, and find a way to make them real. Living. Because as Bob Dylan said, “He not busy being born is busy dying." If you're not sure what to live for, try peak moments and big adventures. Influences. Because none of us lives in a vacuum. Who has helped you become who you are now? (And have you thanked them lately?)
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